This invention relates generally to hopper tees, and more particularly to a one-piece cast hopper tee having a flared vertical pipe section at the juncture of the vertical pipe section and horizontal pipe sections creating an elliptical opening from the vertical pipe into the horizontal pipe that allows greater flow of product through the hopper tee.
Hoppers or tank trailers are commonly used to transport bulk commodities such as industrial and food products. When the hopper or tank trailer reaches the manufacturer's plant, the bulk commodity is unloaded. Typically this is done by pneumatically unloading the bulk commodity from the hopper into a clean and sanitary pipe line at the manufacturer's location. For this purpose, hopper tees are mounted to the discharge outlet of the hopper truck to transfer the bulk commodity by gravity flow or air pressure conveyor vibration into a vertical pipe section of the hopper tee. The hopper tee has a vertical pipe section which is connected to a transverse or horizontal pipe section allowing the outer ends of the hopper tee to be connected in the pneumatic pipe line tubing system of the manufacturer. Pneumatic conveying of the bulk commodity through the horizontal pipe section in the pipeline tubing is achieved by establishing a pressure differential in the pipeline system.
Prior art hopper tees have been constructed by welding vertical and horizontal pipe sections together. With prior art hopper tees constructed in this manner, the welded areas of juncture will create rough and irregular internal wall surfaces, which impede the flow of product or commodity through the hopper tee. More specifically, the welds in the area of juncture between the vertical and horizontal pipe section within the hopper tee produce rough and irregular internal wall surfaces, which can substantially impede product flow. Also, hopper tees constructed in this manner have a much higher incidence of product hang-up in the rough and irregular internal wall surface areas causing product contamination between loads. Moreover, abrasive dry bulk commodities, such as sand, cause premature wear-through in the hopper tee in the welded areas of juncture between the vertical and horizontal pipe sections. Furthermore, an abrasive bulk commodity may work through the entire hopper tee, especially at areas around the juncture of the vertical and horizontal pipe sections.
Hopper tees, as well as the piping connected to the hopper tee, are typically made from schedule 80 heavy steel in order to resist the abrasive bulk commodity. My prior art hopper tee, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,396, alleviates some of the problems associated with other prior art hopper tees. My prior art hopper tee particularly eliminates the problem associated with rough or exposed welds between the vertical and horizontal pipes. That novel design for a cast hopper tee helps eliminate both slow or impeded emptying of a hopper as well as the problem with premature wear of the hopper tee.
However, by using a hopper tee having a flared vertical pipe section at the juncture resulting in an elliptical opening from the vertical pipe into the horizontal pipe would allow more product to enter into a smaller diameter horizontal pipe. Also, by spreading the area of flow from the vertical pipe to the horizontal pipe there would be a reduction in the amount of friction and back pressure which effects unloading rates and premature wear in the hopper tee. Moreover, by designing the hopper tee with wear saddles that extend from horizontal lines up vertical lines on both sides of the juncture of the flared section of the vertical pipe with the horizontal pipe, there is created an area of increased thickness that resists wear through abrasion.